Mixed emotions for Grimsby Town boss after defeat at Chesterfield

David Artell during the Sky Bet League Two match between Chesterfield  and Grimsby Town on September 7, 2024
-Credit: (Image: Jon Corken)


It was mixed emotions for David Artell after Grimsby Town’s 2-1 away defeat at Chesterfield, with the performance showing clear improvement in his eyes despite a disappointing result.

The Mariners boss was pleased with how his team asserted themselves in the game from the start against strong opposition, but two preventable goals in the first half for the hosts made it an uphill task to come away with anything.

Charles Vernam brought Town back into the game soon after the interval with a great long-range effort, and Chesterfield went down to ten men not long after that, but the ruthlessness was lacking again in the end to come away with something.

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Artell said: “The good thing is the underlying performance was there. We’ve come to the promotion favourites and we’ve dominated the game for large parts.

“We haven’t quite got the result and I said to the players, don’t be happy, we haven’t got the result, but understand that, with that underlying performance, you’re going to win more games by playing that well.

“When it was 11 v 11 we felt as though we were in the game and certainly in control. Obviously, we’ve conceded from a set-piece, which is really disappointing. Then we’ve conceded a really poor goal on half-time.

Charles Vernam scores for Grimsby Town during the Sky Bet League Two match at Chesterfield FC
Charles Vernam scores for Grimsby Town during the Sky Bet League Two match at Chesterfield FC -Credit:Jon Corken

“We must’ve been too deep [for the first goal] because that shouldn’t go in directly from where it has come from along the floor. For the second one, we defended the initial cross well but then we didn’t clear our lines and it goes in which is disappointing.”

As Artell mentioned, the two conceded goals were disappointing from a defensive standpoint, but the general focus of his post-match comments was on what did not happen at the other end of the pitch.

Despite being two goals down at half-time, the Mariners boss felt his team’s performance meant they were still in the game, and that proved to be true with how the second half unfolded. However, the missing piece was again that final pass or shot to make the most of their perceived dominance in the game.

Artell added: “We felt we were in the game at half-time. Then Charles scores a good goal and then it’s a case of taking the chances. It was a really good game. I thought it was two really good teams and it was played with the right spirit.

“A lack of a ruthless final action has cost us in the end, we’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net. We’re creating enough, so we will score more goals which is pleasing on one hand but bitterly disappointing on the other that we haven’t been able to do that here.

“The lads know that they’re playing well and are in a good place because they’re improving all the time, but we’ve still got to improve in the final third and generally be more ruthless at both ends of the pitch.”